Ever since the tvOS SDK was first released, the Tutorial Team has been working on the definitive book on Apple TV development: the tvOS Apprentice.

Today, we have some exciting news – the book is now 100% complete and available today!

To celebrate the book launch, we’ll be posting some free tvOS tutorials this week, and giving away some free copies of the book – and even a brand new Apple TV.

Keep reading to find out more about the tvOS Apprentice, how to enter the giveaway, and how to get your launch discount.

Introducing the tvOS Apprentice

The tvOS Apprentice teaches you everything you need to know to develop great apps for the Apple TV – whether you’re a seasoned iOS pro, or a web developer looking to leverage your skills to a new platform.

The book covers both of the ways you can make tvOS apps:

TVML apps: The first way to make apps is via TVML and TVJS – a new markup language and programming language created specifically for tvOS apps. Web developers will rejoice, and even native iOS developers will discover this is quite powerful, and can save a lot of development time.

Traditional apps: The second way to make apps is the traditional approach – coding apps in Swift or Objective-C, using frameworks from iOS like UIKit, AVFoundation, StoreKit, and more. iOS developers will discover this leverages your existing expertise and code, and allows you to make a fully custom user interface.

This book is a whopping 28 chapters and 538 pages, covering all aspects of tvOS development from beginner to advanced. Let’s take a look at what’s ahead.

Section I: Architecture

This section contains just one chapter, designed to give you a birds-eye view of how tvOS works and help you decide what to read next.

Chapter 1, Architecture: The architecture chapter is the introduction to the technology behind Apple TV apps. This chapter will be your guide to help you decide your path through the rest of the book.

Section II: TVML Apps

This section covers the basics for creating an app via the TVML approach. From the basics of Hello World through a real world example, by the end of this section you’ll know everything you need to create client / server apps for Apple TV.

Chapter 2, Hello, TVML: Shows you how to set up a basic Hello World app using TVML and Javascript.

Chapter 15, Networking: Learn how to download content, video, and other assets over the network.

Section IV: Advanced Frameworks

This section covers some of the more advanced frameworks you’ll need for many TV app use cases. Whether you took the TVML approach or the Traditional approach, these frameworks will be important to understand to make your app stand out.

Chapter 16, User Input and the Controller: Learn how your app can interact with the new Apple TV remote.

Chapter 17, Beginning Video Playback: One of the most common requirements for Apple TV apps will be to play video – learn how to do that here.

Chapter 18, Advanced Video Playback: Learn about some of the more advanced topics in playing videos.

Chapter 19, On Demand Resources: Learn how to use Apple’s easy to use storage system, so your app can download assets on the fly.

Chapter 20, Beginning CloudKit: Learn how to use CloudKit on tvOS to store your app’s data.

Chapter 28, Server Deployment: Similarly, developing TVML apps for tvOS requires some knowledge for being able to deploy servers. We have a crash course on that for you too. :]

tvOS Apprentice Week and Giveaway

Today, we are launching the book, and from Tuesday to Thursday, we’ll be releasing 3 select chapters from the book as free tutorials on this site. This will give you a chance to check out the book – we’re confident you’ll love it! :]

On Friday, we’ll round out our week of celebration with a special giveaway.

4 lucky winners will win a free copy of the tvOS Apprentice PDF version (or a book of your choice if you already have the tvOS Apprentice)

1 lucky winner will win a brand new Apple TV!

Note the winner of the Apple TV must reside in the US for shipping purposes (sorry international folks). If someone outside the US ends up winning, you can choose a free PDF book of your choice instead.

To enter into this giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post, or any of the tutorials that come out this week. We’ll choose winners randomly and announce the results on Friday.

Where To Go From Here?

As mentioned, the tvOS Apprentice is now 100% complete and available today.

If you preordered the tvOS Apprentice, you can download the book immediately on your My Loot page.

If you don’t have the tvOS Apprentice yet, we have some good news. To celebrate the launch week, we are extending our current $10 off discount until this Friday. So if you want the discount, be sure to order now.

We hope you enjoy the tvOS Apprentice Week, and look forward to seeing some amazing Apple TV apps from you.

Ray is part of a great team - the raywenderlich.com team, a group of over 100 developers and editors from across the world. He and the rest of the team are passionate both about making apps and teaching others the techniques to make them.

When Ray’s not programming, he’s probably playing video games, role playing games, or board games.